This is the problem with the documentary. It is a politically-driven production potentially with an anti-banking agenda distracting from the real issue. The real issue is that Greece's colossal debt and fundamental economic problems stem not from evil banks manipulating the country but from the country's "national willingness" to borrow against future income to consume and match European standard of living after joining the EEC - not the EU which didn't exist at the time yet.

That's the most important part - it happened during the decade since socialist Papandreu took over in 1981 and continued until circa the creation of the EU. Here's the relevant graph of Greece's debt.

Notice how the national debt explodes from 25% to over 100% in 10 years? That's the government refusing to conduct reform economic and social reform and borrowing their way to higher pensions, public sector salaries, public services etc etc. It is that refusal to change the foundations of Greek economy that yielded another colossal spike when the crisis in 2008 hit. It had nothing to do with the evil banks cheating "the people" off their wealth. It had everything to do with Greece being a broke-ass country living paycheck-to-paycheck under EU's generous assistance and investment funds (which don't count towards the debt) and going to the pawn shop for money once the funds run out.

The relative drop in debt to GDP ration is caused by nominal increase of Greece's GDP once they joined (fraudulently - again Goldman Sachs only helped Greek government!) the Eurozone because the value of "new" income was larger than it would be in Drachmas. So the debt could continue to increase while it seemed as if it was decreasing. Goldman Sachs didn't orchestrate financial destruction of Greece - Greece did. Goldman Sachs was just the dealer providing the pills. If not them Greece would print their way into hyperinflation - a really drastic and irresponsible measure that another socialist, Varoufakis advocated - which in turn would be better because at least they wouldn't have anybody else to blame for their own shortsightedness and stupidity when everything collapsed.

Now they do unfortunately and that's why Syriza wins elections and such films get made. There's another saying where I come from: "Pretending to be Greek" which is a way of describing someone who pretends not to understand what is being said to them or what is going on to avoid responsibility for their actions.

here's the thing. i wouldn't necessarily disagree with the points you've made.

but you are not looking at the bigger picture. what conditions actually allowed this situation to take place?

greater economic integration brought about by international institutions like the eu, imf etc, and the role of private international banks.

the problem itself is greater economic integration. if greece wants to adopt certain economic and social policies, let the results fall upon greece and let them determine their trade with other nations however they see fit. ie let them adopt mercantilist economic policies if they so desire.

the current attitude of liberal internationalism and international banking has only led to economic disaster and international infighting recently, for some obvious systemic reasons.

first we had the great recession which led members of the eu and china to want to decouple themselves from the whole us international banking system entirely.

then we have china's recent economic collapse, which is not so much a collapse as a recognition of that china's economy is extremely opaque and was fueled by things like massive spending on real estate manipulation and in ghost towns, which currently are uninhabited.

now you can blame the chinese. but as an american, i think it is more logical to blame the us international bankers. because they felt the need to invest in an incredibly politically and economically corrupt and opaque nation like china and the us economy is now feeling the damage as a result.

this is why there is no support for things like TPP or increased economic integration in the first world. TPP was crushed by congress fyi, not just popular sentiment. we are seeing rising economic nationalism and isolationism-and for good reason. the first world has gotten burned by the banks and their reckless speculation, in the first and 3rd world

but you are not looking at the bigger picture. what conditions actually allowed this situation to take place?

I am not looking at the bigger picture?

You don't seem to understand what's being written in simple sentences FFS. The Greek problem did not start in 2008 but in 1981. That's where the real origin of the current crisis is.

The bigger picture was that Papandreu wanted to maintain and expand his grab on power by easiest ways possible and the Greek people (like most of nations everywhere) wanted everything now because otherwise they might consider voting for the other party. Papendreu being socialist did it the socialist way by balooning public spending to absurd levels and not only avoiding reform but cementing further the already pathological public sector while doing very little to dismantle the oligarchy established during the junta times. Years passed, nobody changed anything and whatever wealth was evaporated through growing costs of living was papered over by devaluation of the Drachma. In other words Greece did the same thing Italy or France did several times before - made the whole country pay for stupid public policies by inflation.

It wasn't until Greece decided to join the Euro when that stopped being an option and exacerbated the crisis because joining the Euro put Greece in a bind with all other Eurozone economies and the only way to inflate their way out of the debt was to do it in unison. Greece was too much into debt to begin with to do it. End of story.

Greeks put their heads into humongous debt. Greeks put their heads into the Eurozone. It's the Greeks' fault. Period.

Oh and by the way - devaluation is not a "solution". It is only a temporary solution for the politicians who only think four years ahead or have their heads too deep up their own asses like Varoufakis. For the people devaluation is deprivation of their wealth. I guess you people - most of you being dumb beyond imagination when it comes to economy - must actually live through a hyperinflation period to see it with your own dumb eyes to understand it. Even then some of you won't and will keep blaming whoever is more suitable to your preconceived bias. I have lived through a hyperfinflation and lost the equivalent of half a small apartment in savings so I would have to lobotomize myself to forget it.

And all you do here is spew ignorant bullshit thinking that jabbering slogans about how you hate capitalism or whatnot will somehow distract me from the fact that the main premise of the film is a lie. Goldman Sachs - no matter how criminal their action on a regular basis - was invited to help Greece conduct their fraudulent policies.

And as a matter of fact that is the real reason why both Europe and America are in a similar (albeit a bit less severe) situation. People want free money and refuse to accept that it's impossible. Because they do want free money banks who profit from managing money make it possible to seem like its free money. In reality they profit and people end up with the bill in the long run. But again... you can't scam an honest man. It is the sense of monetary and economic entitlement in the west that brought it about and no amount of bullshit fingerpointing will change it.

Why don't you learn some proper economics and refresh proper economic history before you start filling the bandwidth with nonsense which only shows how thoroughly ignorant and incompetent you are on the topic.

and the eu allowed the greeks to join, making them another state that mostly does not contribute anything financially. sure it's a chicken or egg question but.

like i said, the best thing at this point would be for the eu and greece to part ways, since their interests clearly differ.

as far as the eu being a capitalist institution? that is a laughable statement. it is a fabian socialist institution, like the us federal reserve, made of public-private cooperation.

and i would say that the form of "red capitalism" we have seen, with massive state investments and subsidies in private institutions (ie in the us with it's massive subsidies for oil and corporations etc) and economic centralization through institutes like the eu has fallen out of favor.

let me ask you this question. what resembles capitalism more to you, international institutions like the imf, eu, and un running the world economy or mercantilist economic policy?

because the former results in massive economic centralization, by design, and results that mirror international communism far more than the latter. heck what are the un and eu effectively besides a "politburo" meant to subvert national sovereignty?

the problem itself is greater economic integration. if greece wants to adopt certain economic and social policies, let the results fall upon greece and let them determine their trade with other nations however they see fit. ie let them adopt mercantilist economic policies if they so desire.

Greece already signed the contracts. You can't just change the conditions on something if it doesn't work out how you hoped it would. This is called 'being an adult.'

Big banks operate in all countries but not all countries collPse into sinkholes the way Greece did.they took the money. No one told them to borrow more than they could pay. And the winner of their last election got into power by specifically telling them they wouldn't have to repay their debt, again repeating the cycle.

True, but it doesn't stop Goldman Sachs and their like being a moral cancer on the world - as the ex Greek minister says in this documentary, Goldman Sachs don't control the world, but they are a parasite sucking at it

Yeah it's Goldman Sachs fault they have 20% of the country is employed by the government. They have rampant government corruption and incredibly high taxes to pay all those government employees their pay and massive pensions.